Classical Mornings

I had a completely different post in mind this morning as I drove back home from dropping off the progeny. As usual, the radio was tuned to NPR and I happened to catch the last bit of a story about Cezanne whilst waiting for Performance Today to begin.

He replied: “Why stage another Shakespeare play? Another Beethovan symphony? These are the fundamentals, the things that sustain us each day, and we can’t have enough of them.”

Quite right. Especially for a luncheon with the faculty at my daughter’s new school. So today I have traded my spots for stripes. There are some mornings when you are up in the air about what to wear. You can never go wrong with a tried and true classic.

Most of this is off the rack. In the photo, for those keeping track: Navy chalkstripe 2 1/2 button (3 button rolled to the second), singlebreasted suit by Polo Ralph Lauren, blue and white stripe custom shirt by Land’s End, MTM black plain toe blucher by R. Martegani, tie Haines and Bonner of London, gut end braces by Thurston, horizontally striped blue and white socks by Pantherella (well, I had to have some fun, didn’t I?)

Without the fundamentals, we are cretins. This reflects in everything.

Further, the reason we must continue to exhibit such necessary culture is for the coming generations. If it wasn’t for the continued utilization of artists like Cezanne or composers like Beethoven young people, such as myself, would be at a loss for absorbing previously unknown culture. I suppose you could make an argument in a similar vein for high culture over low culture, but that’s another discussion entirely.